Circumambience
by Ciara
Summary: Nick collapses at a crime scene and the game is on to figure out why. NickGreg slashy stuff Rated for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own any CSI characters or anything even remotely related to them…..yet.

Rated: NC-17 (for later chapters)

Summary: Nick collapses at a crime scene, and it may not have been an accident.

Warnings: Do not read if man/man love scares you. D (Nick/Gregh)

Circumambience

Nick Stokes tried not to stumble out of the car as another wave of heat made him dizzy. A headache rampaged in his head. His forehead was beaded with sweat. Sometimes the constant, circumambient heat was just too much for him. He was glad he didn't argue when Warrick said he was driving, as Nick probably wouldn't have been able to concentrate on the road. His stomach churned at every turn and bump, and he fought the nausea as they approached the motel.

It was a gruesome scene. Six dead, lying in the heat of the desert in a stingy motel, this case was a heavy hitter, they'd called in both swing shift and the nightshift in on this one. This was the part of the job Nick hated. The victims were four men and two women. The manager of the motel had been shot in the head in his own office, and the janitor was the next to go. Then the bodies of the two women, both bound to the bed, gagged, their lifeless eyes open wide, indescribable things done to their bodies. Another body of a man found in the shower, throat slashed from ear to ear, and another man found shot in the room next door. They'd been there for an estimated week. They were discovered by an elderly couple, stopping for the evening on a road trip. After finding the manager, they called the police.

The smell had been unbearable. Sara had promptly gagged upon entering the motel room, and had to rush outside. Warrick patted her on the back as she spat into the bushes for a few minutes.

"Can I call the DB in Room 7?" Sara asked when she felt better. Grissom nodded, sympathetically and she went to go process the scene. He looked back at Nick. He had turned a little green upon seeing Sara's reaction to the scene. Grissom sighed.

"Well, time to suck it up, buttercup," he said, his attitude suddenly turning cheerful. He turned to the other two, gave them a goofy salute, and headed on into the main crime scene.

"Do you want the office, or do you want to go help Gris?" Warrick asked, still watching Grissom leave. Nick blinked and took a deep breath, trying to clear his head. He felt dizzy again. He thought to mention something to Warrick, but the nagging thought of the case being too important kept him from doing so. He swallowed back the bile rising in his throat and plastered a weak smile on his face.

"I'll take the office," he said. At least this way, no one would pay any attention to him. Warrick eyed him up for a minute.

"You sure?" he asked. Nick nodded, then turned away quickly and headed off.

"I'll send Greg or Cath in when they get here," Warrick called to Nick's retreating back. Nick waved without turning around and continued off. He entered the office and was hit with another wave of heat. He quickly set his case down and opened it. He slipped on his gloves quickly, fighting off another wave of dizziness.

He clenched his eyes shut as they were stung with sweat. He decided to start with the blood spatter closest to the door. He picked up a swab, and then promptly dropped it on the floor. He rubbed his eyes. 'This is too much,' he thought, his vision starting to blur, his breathing become ragged. The walls around him started to sway, and he quickly stumbled out the door, and down towards the motel room where the others were. He had to stop halfway there; the outside world began to spin. He leaned against the wall and tried to clear his head, taking a few deep breaths. Suddenly, his vision started to cloud over, and he felt himself slide to the floor. A shadow loomed over him and suddenly everything swirled into darkness.

"What was that?" Warrick said suddenly, causing Grissom to jump. They'd been silently gathering evidence, "I heard a noise outside." He stood up.

"It might be Brass. He said he'd be back soon…" Grissom suggested. Warrick nodded.

"I'm going to look anyways," he said. He heard Grissom mumbling something about 'excuses' as he stepped outside. It was the half truth; he'd really wanted to get away from the scene. It was a disturbing one. Fortunately, their shift was almost over, and the day shift would be sending a team to take over. They were only to begin the process, then hand it over.

Warrick sighed and went next door.

"Sara?" he called, sticking his head in.

"I'm in the bathroom," she called, and stepped out a second later, "Something wrong?"

"I heard something, just checking on you," he said. She nodded.

"I'm alright, maybe you should go see if Nick's doing okay," Warrick nodded, and then strolled in the opposite direction towards the office. He rounded the corner just in time to see Nick, sweating and breathing heavily, collapse to the ground. His reaction was instant. He practically leaped to Nick, catching him around the shoulders and lowering him down to the ground before he hit his head.

"Nick? Nick!" Warrick called worriedly. Nick's eyes were glazed, but quickly rolled into the back of his head and he fell unconscious. Warrick grabbed his radio quickly.

"Dispatch, this is Warrick Brown with the Las Vegas Crime Lab, I need paramedics out to the Wilson Motel 6, stat. We have an officer down, I repeat, officer down!"

"Rick!" someone called. He turned to see Brass running to him, which he would've found strange if this weren't an emergency.

"What happened?" Warrick shook his head.

"I don't know, he-he fell. I caught him and he passed out. I haven't checked for any injuries. We need to secure the area in case there is still someone lurking around," Brass nodded, pulling out his gun. He stepped slowly away from them, edging his way to the office. Warrick watched him go and then turned back to his fallen friend.

Warrick took off his shirt and gently dabbed the sweat off Nick's forehead, then gently began to examine him for injury. After a few minutes, he stopped, finding no exterior injuries. He then placed the palm of his hand across his forehead, and his eyes widened. 'Bad fever,'

"There's nothing here," Brass said upon returning.

"He's got an incredibly high fever, I think it might be heat stroke," Warrick said, "Go get Sara and Grissom, we need to get him out of the sun." Brass nodded before taking off to get the other CSIs. He returned quickly with both of them at his heels. Sara quickly kneeled down opposite of Warrick.

"What happened!" she asked.

"Heat stroke, I think," Warrick said, "We need to get him out of the sun. We're 30 minutes out so the paramedics will take awhile. I've seen this before, my grandmother almost died of it once. Quick, Grissom grab his legs, Sara you hold his shoulder and we lift on three." The other two nodded quickly and positioned themselves.

"Ready? 1…2…3!" They all lifted Nick gently and carried him into the nearest empty motel room and set him down on the bed. Sara let out a breath as they set him down.

"He's gotta lay back on the junk food," she huffed, "What should we do now?" Warrick though about it for a minute and checked his watch.

"We get off shift in one hour, so I think you two should try and get in as much gathering of evidence as we can. I'm going to stay here and try and keep Nick's fever down long enough for the paramedics to get here," Sara nodded.

"I'm almost done with my scene, I'll start on the office, I don't think Nick had time to do much," she said.

"I'll finish up on the female DBs, you seem to have taken charge. Not that there's anything wrong with that, in fact, I almost encourage it" Grissom said. They filed out of the room with quick reassuring glances at Warrick. Brass just observed the whole thing.

"Jim, do you think you could find a towel, and then run it under cool water?" Warrick asked. Brass nodded and strolled into the bathroom. Warrick was about to unbutton Nick's shirt when a small groan elicited from the man.

"Nick? Nick, can you hear me?" Warrick said softly, leaning over the sick man. Nick's eyelashes fluttered, then flickered open and he gazed up at Warrick with his glossy eyes. He swallowed, his breath quickened and he started to tremble.

"W-w-warrick-k?" he breathed heavily, "I'm r-r-really c-cold-d. I think I'm s-s-ick." Warrick smiled softly.

"That's the understatement of the year," he said, "Paramedics are on their way. You have a really bad fever." Just then, Brass returned with a damp, cold towel. He handed it to Warrick, and then looked down at Nick.

"Hey kiddo," he said. Nick somewhat frowned.

"Wh-who are y-you c-calling a k-k-k-kid?" he stammered. Warrick had to chuckle at that comment. Nick nearly jumped out of his skin when Warrick gently dabbed his face with the towel, but his skin then accepted the cooling. His closed his eyes and let Warrick do his work. He was in no shape to argue.

"I d-didn't finish processing," Nick said, "Didn't even s-st-start."

"Doesn't matter Nicky, day shift will take over soon enough," Warrick said, "Right now all we're considered with is getting you to a hospital." Nick groaned.

"I'm gonna throw up," Warrick quickly reached for the nearby trash as Nick doubled over and began to vomit. He continued gagging for a few minutes until nothing but painful dry heaves came up. By the time he was done, tears had streaked down his cheeks. "…hurts." Nick mumbled softly, and then closed his eyes. Warrick watched him for a minute, then Nick's breathing regulated and he realized he'd fallen unconscious. He turned to Brass.

"Watch him?" Brass nodded. Warrick picked up his shirt on his way out, and went out to help Sara and Grissom.

Catherine had just gathered her evidence kit when she got the call from Warrick, after getting the details of what happened, she agreed to meet him at Desert Palms. As she tossed her kit into the back of her car, she pulled out her cell phone and started dialing. She'd already started the engine and parted from the crime lab by the time the phone was answered.

"Cath, I'm off right now. I'm getting some much needed beauty sleep," a sleepy Greg said.

"Hello to you too. Speaking of beauty, that one you've got your eye on is currently on his way to Desert Palms. He collapsed at the scene. I thought you would want to know,"

"…"

"Greg?"

"I'll meet you there,"

The paramedics came in and moved Nick into the ambulance while Warrick, Sara and Grissom processed the scene as fast as they could. Warrick caught up with the two paramedics before they left.

"I'm coming too," he said sternly. The two didn't even try to argue and was glad for that. Warrick nodded back at Grissom before climbing into the ambulance. He was staying behind with Sara to finish up processing, and then they were going to meet him there. They were to tag the evidence before dayshift arrived.

The ride to the hospital was a long one. The blazing heat didn't help anything at all. He watched as the paramedics pre-examined Nick.

"Foaming slightly around the mouth," one of them said, "Lips discoloring…" He turned to Warrick. "I'm not a doctor, but I've seen a lot of cases like these. It looks like he was poisoned. Most likely in something he ingested." Warrick set his jaw angrily. Someone had poisoned him? Was in intentional? He ended up pondering over these thoughts during the rest of the journey there.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any CSI characters or anything even remotely related to them…..yet.

Rated: NC-17 (for later chapters)

Summary: Nick's been poisoned. The game is on.

Warnings: Do not read if man/man love scares you. D

Chapter Two

Warrick was jolted awake by someone shuffling, and he sat up, taking in his surroundings before remembering where he was.

_The hospital…Nick…poisoned…_

He had been sitting on the chair next to Nick's bed for the better part of an hour, when he felt his eyelids droop and he must've fallen asleep. He looked up at his best friend. Nick was moving around and moaning softly in his sleep. After a few seconds his eyelids fluttered open and he blinked several times, trying to focus.

"Warrick?" he said softly. Then he felt it. The sharp stabbing pains in his abdomen. He gasped.

"Nick? You okay? I'm going to get the doctor…" Warrick said, getting up and heading for the door. He stuck his head out and called for a nurse, but was suddenly taken aback by a cry of pain that elicited from Nick's lips.  
Warrick rushed back to his side. Nick squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the pain. He'd never felt this before, and wondered for a moment if this was like the male equivalent to childbirth. His thoughts were interrupted by another sharp stab of agony. He cried out again, his back arching up and falling again.

"Ahh…fuck, it hurts!" he screamed. He felt Warrick grab his hand and hold it tight. Suddenly there was a nurse on his other side, asking him questions. He tried to listen, but he couldn't focus. The pain jolted through him like electricity and he just couldn't bear it.

"Nicky, stop! You have to calm down," Warrick's words were pleading and laced with panic. Nick choked back a painful sob before doubling over the side of the bed to throw up.

"Warrick, it hurts! It hurts so much!" he cried out again, tears spilling down his cheeks in a hasty trail. "It fucking hurts!" He started to thrash and buck around, trying to climb out of the bed as if it would magically heal the white hot pain coursing through his upper body. He screamed again and suddenly felt several pairs of hands, all over his body, restraining him to the bed. He could hear Warrick's voice still, but it seemed so distant. He screamed again and began to convulse.

"Nicky, they're just trying to help you. The doctor's here, you're going to be fine…" Warrick tried to reassure him, but Nick's thrashing and fighting had place a tiny spot of fear into his voice. Warrick never seen his friend in so much agony, and sadness ripped through him. He watched as several nurses held his hysterical friend down, still screaming his name.

"MAKE THEM STOP! PLEASE! IT HURTS! IT HURTS!" Nick cried, but a second later he felt a sharp prick in his left arm, and everything faded to black.

Warrick released a breath that he wasn't even aware that he was holding. He watched as Nick's body went totally slack and his eyes glazed. He stared into Nick's eyes for a few moments before they slipped closed and his friend fell into a deep sleep.

"Sir? The doctor would like a moment to check on your friend's condition…" He was quickly ushered from the room by one of the nurses. Outside in the hall, he stood there frozen for a moment, finally taking in the whole situation that had happened. He took a few deep breaths, and then made his way back to the waiting room.

He was mildly surprised when he got there to see his fellow CSIs. Grissom sat in a chair staring down at the floor, Catherine next to him, arms crossed in front of her. Sara sat next to her, wringing her hands together nervously. Greg was the only one not sitting. He was pacing the room back and forth. All eyes cast to Warrick when he entered the room and they stood up.

"What happened?" Grissom was the first to ask, naturally. Warrick shook his head, his eyes suddenly blurring with tears. He blinked them back and swallowed hastily.

"I – I don't know," he stammered, "We were collecting evidence. Nick was in the office by himself. I left to go check on him and he was outside. He collapsed, so we took him inside and he started throwing up. He passed out before paramedics arrived. The doctor said he may have been poisoned…" They all stared, shocked.

"Was he eating anything?" Sara asked insistently, Warrick shook his head again.

"I wasn't with him before we left. I don't know where he was. He seemed off, but I guess I just wasn't thinking about him, then he collapsed and…I…I couldn't help him," He felt a hand on his forearm and looked to see Catherine staring into his eyes, her own full of sympathy. She led him to the chair, and he slumped down into it.

"He woke up a few minutes ago," he said with a heavy, tired sigh.

"What did he say?" Greg asked. Warrick looked up at Greg, taking in his appearance for the first time. His hair was disheveled, eyes red, shoulders slouched and his hands were shaking. Warrick realized that he must've just rolled out of bed. It was his night off.

"He couldn't say much. He…was hurting. He kept saying that it hurt. I don't really know…G, man, he just started freaking out. He was so hysterical that they had to sedate him," Warrick sighed again and rested his forehead on his hands. He felt Catherine's hand on his back, rubbing in slow soothing circles.

"Is he okay?" Greg asked softly, "I mean, is he going to be okay?"

"The doctor is checking him out right now, we'll know soon, I guess," Greg nodded slowly, then decided to resume pacing. They sat in silence for a few minutes, but it was soon broken by the beeping of several pagers.

"We need to get back to work," Sara said softly. She glanced over at Grissom, and as usual, his expression was unreadable. Catherine was the first to stand.

"Anyone need a lift?" she asked. Warrick raised his hand.

"I rode here with the paramedics, my car is still back at the lab," he said, standing up.

"Sara and I are heading back in my car. We'll meet you there," Grissom said, then turned to Greg, "I know it's your day off, but…"

"I want to stay," Greg interrupted, "Someone should be here when he wakes up." Everyone nodded in agreement. Warrick patted Greg on the back softly, and then turned to leave with Catherine.

"Get a statement of some sort," Grissom said. Greg nodded. He watched his friends retreating backs until they'd left the building, and then walked back to his chair to wait. The room was surprisingly empty. The only other occupants were an old balding man, and a younger woman who were both sitting opposite of him. He could feel the small ball of anxiety rolling around in the pit of his stomach. He'd always tried to repress the certain feelings he had for his co-worker. He had trouble dating people from work in the past. Over the last few months though, Nick and Greg had become exceptionally close. He remembered the day Nick actually asked him to do something outside of work. It wasn't anything special, but it was a night to remember. Nick had scored two tickets to a baseball game and his date had backed out at the last minute. Greg was surprised when he'd asked him to go along instead. Nick insisted, and Greg was glad that he had. The baseball game itself wasn't all that memorable. Greg had been to several baseball games in his life, but spending time with Nick made it different. They laughed, joked, cheered and Greg felt almost giddy at the time. He wondered if maybe Nick was feeling something there also.

After the game, they'd gone out for a few drinks at a bar Nick was familiar with. They shared a few rounds and talked some more. Greg learned many things about Nick as he spoke of his family back home in Texas. In turn, Greg shared a side of him with Nick that no one really ever got to see. He remembered telling Nick in great detail about some of his childhood, about his Papa Olaf and the girls he dated in high school. Greg thought it was nice to actually have someone to hang out with. Working the nightshift made his social life take a nose dive. And he liked Nick, more than he cared to admit, and couldn't help but wonder if maybe there was a chance. He didn't push though.

After the pub, they'd called a cab and gone to Nick's house to play Madden 2004. Greg loved that Nick played video games; it was another thing they could talk about. And they did, for hours on end. After a few games, they fell asleep. Greg was in an overstuffed armchair while Nick sprawled out on the couch. He remembered waking up at some point in the night and watching Nick sleep for a few minutes. He looked so peaceful.  
They'd been late for work the next day, and rumors had started circulating. Greg wondered if Nick had even denied anything, but somehow he got the feeling his friend had neither confirmed nor denied any of them. Whispers about the two of the still floated around the lab to this day.

Greg's thoughts were interrupted when the doctor strode into the waiting room. He looked around the waiting room and frowned.

"Dr. Portillo?" Greg asked, standing up, "I'm Greg Sanders. I'm here about Nick Stokes." The doctor flipped through a few pages on his clipboard then looked up at Greg and smiled.

"Ah, I see, you're listed as Nick's emergency reference contact," he said. Greg tried to hide his surprise, and nodded.

"So do you know what happened?" he asked.

"We've already sent a tox screen to our labs to determine if Nick came in contact with any poisons. Hopefully we'll be able to determine what kind. It seems to have caused severe internal pain, and for now we've sedated him. We'll be giving him some medicine to manage any pain when he wakes up, but I imagine that the poison may almost be out of his system by then,"

"I'd like a sample of his stomach contents," Greg said. The doctor looked at him as if he didn't know whether to laugh or not. Greg realized that his sweats and worn out Iron Maiden tee didn't really reflect his career. He fished around his pocket, pulled out his ID and showed the doctor.

"It's not that I don't trust your lab, but I think I have a better chance of determining the poison. I can contact the hospital once I figure it out," The doctor nodded, and then smiled again.

"Let's call it a race, then," Greg grinned.

"I'll be back before he wakes up,"

"C'mon Hodges, if you do get in trouble, I'll take the heat, I promise," Greg was wheedling Hodges, pushing the jar of Nick's stomach contents across the table to him. David sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You know, I already have about a million samples from the motel alone, and now you want me to go through Nick's stomach contents? I mean, no offense, but this case takes priority over Nick, as much as I know you hate to hear it," he explained to Greg, leaning against the desk and folding his arms across his chest. Greg sighed loudly and picked up the jar off the desk. He held it up to the light on the ceiling and looked at it.

"I just need to find out what could've poisoned him, but you're right…" he said, then grinned slyly, "You know, I think I'll just ask Mia to do it." Hodges looked back up at Greg, and then snatched the jar out of his hand.

"You're a smartass, you know that?" he said. Greg grinned again.

"Takes one to know one,"

"Get out of my lab and go back to your sleeping beauty," Hodges teased. Greg's face dropped.

"Am I that predictable?" he asked, "Like…does everyone know?" Hodges laughed.

"I wouldn't know, I'm not exactly Mr. Office-Gossip. At this point, I'd say the only people who might not know are Nick, Grissom and perhaps a small village off the coast of Africa," he said, and Greg couldn't help but chuckle.

"Smartass," Greg said, and then turned on his heel to leave.

"Takes one to know one!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

After dropping off the sample with Hodges, Greg quickly drove over to Nick's house. Other than Catherine, Nick was the only other CSI Greg knew that wasn't living in an apartment building. He'd asked Nick about it, and Nick explained that he felt safer in a building alone, than in a building full of strangers. Greg couldn't blame him, after watching Nick's ordeals over the last few years.

He pulled into Nick's driveway, and strode to the front door. He slipped the key Nick had given him weeks ago when he'd gone away for a conference and asked Greg to watch his house for a few days. Nick never asked for it back after that, and Greg was kind of honored that Nick trusted him like that. He walked into the house and smiled. It smelled like Nick and everything there was just a shape of his personality. In his living room, there was the oversized armchair that was Nick's absolute favorite place to sit. He stretched himself out the chair, deciding to take a few minutes to himself. He glanced around the room, and then suddenly did a double take. There, placed on the side table next to the couch, was a small picture frame. He got off the chair and picked it up, tracing a finger over the smiling faces. It was a picture of the two of them that Catherine had taken at some company dinner. Nick's arm was wrapped around his shoulder, and Greg was smiling and blushing like an embarrassed sixteen year old. Greg smiled sadly to himself and had to blink back tears that were beginning to sting his eyes. 'God, if anything were to happen to Nicky…' he thought to himself.

Greg placed the picture gently on the table. He collected himself, and then found his way to Nick's bedroom. He rummaged through Nick's drawers and tossed some clothes in a small sports bag he'd found. He took the bag out to his car and tossed it in the trunk, then retrieved his evidence kit and headed into Nick's kitchen. Upon opening the fridge, he was surprised at how empty it was. Nick must order take out a lot. He slipped on a pair of latex gloves and began rummaging through some things. He took a sample of Nick's milk and a small bottle of Coke. He began taking everything out and placing them on the floor in a circle around him. He took samples of everything, and then moved to the cupboards. By the time he'd finished with them, his kit was overloading. He hauled it out to his car and placed it carefully in the back seat. Then he locked up Nick's house, hopped in the car and drove off, heading back to Desert Palms.

* * *

Warrick sighed angrily for the fifth time in two minutes, and hung up his cell phone again. He was in the locker room back at the lab trying to get hold of Greg. After another try, he realized he wouldn't get through anytime soon and tossed the phone into his bag, cursing.

"Hey," Warrick jumped nearly three feet in the air. He whirled around to face Catherine.

"Christ, you scared me," he said. She laughed.

"Sorry, didn't mean to," she replied, "What's the matter?" Warrick shook his head and zipped up his bag.

"Nothing, I was trying to call Greg to see what's going on with Nicky…but his phone is off," he said, slinging the backpack over his shoulder, "I'm heading over there soon. Hopefully he'll be awake."

"Well…you're not supposed to have your phone on when you're in the hospital. Probably why you can't reach him," she informed him, "And I don't think Nicky will be awake. Those sedatives are meant to last for hours." Warrick sighed again, but then he paused and looked back up at Catherine.

"Well…we've certainly done our fair share of overtime. And we've gotta come back this afternoon," he said.

"Hey, I'm heading home soon. I'm going to make Lindsey's breakfast before she wakes up. I forgot just how much teenagers can eat," she said, "Want to come?"

"No thanks, Cath. I really don't want to interrupt your time with Linds. I know you barely get to see as it is," Warrick declined. Catherine scoffed.

"Please. Come on, I'm insisting now. Besides, Lindsey would love to see you. She loves all of you guys…Uncle Warrick…" she laughed. Warrick chuckled also.

"I guess I could for a little while then," he said. He shifted his bag onto his other shoulder and held his arm out to her. She took it, and together they walked out of the building to their cars.

* * *

When Greg made it back to the hospital, Nick was still sleeping. He slipped into the room quietly and pulled up a chair next to the bed. He watched the rise and fall of Nick's chest, his breathing deep and even. Every so often Greg could hear the faintest whisper coming from his lips, and his eyelids often twitched. He knew Nick was dreaming. He gently lifted his hand and stroked the sweat off Nick's brow with his thumb. His forehead was still incredibly warm.

"Hn…" Nick mumbled in his sleep. Greg looked around the room and found discarded magazine under the drawer of the side table. It was an old magazine featuring Eminem on the cover. 'Oh well,' he thought, 'It's something to read.'

He was flipping through the last few pages when a small whimper floated to his ears. He glanced up at Nick, whose face was contorted. He looked…scared, almost. Greg stood up from the chair and gently sat on the side of the bed, careful not to disturb him. Nick whimpered again, his hands suddenly flailing into the air. Greg quickly grabbed his hand and stroked his knuckles gently.

"Nick…Nicky, its okay, you're dreaming," he whispered softly. Suddenly, before Greg could even register what happened, Nick bolted up in the bed, nearly knocking heads with Greg. His arms wrapped around Greg's shoulders lightning fast, and Greg tensed. After a moment, he relaxed, returning the hug. He could hear Nick's panicked breathing hot against his neck.

"Gr-Greggo?" he whispered hoarsely. Greg chuckled.

"Yes, it's me. Luckily it's me and not a nurse; you might've scared her with that," He could feel Nick's breathing slowly returning to normal.

"I was dreaming," he said, swallowing hard.

"I know, I know. You're alright now," he reassured him, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't know…just so many bad memories. I dreamt about so many things…" Greg could feel Nick starting to tremble again. He patted his back gently.

"You don't have to talk about it now, if you feel like it later though, I'm all ears,"

"Ahem…"

Greg and Nick turned instinctively to the sound of someone clearing their throat. Warrick stood at the doorway, hands shoved into his pockets. Nick let go of Greg and blushed. Warrick smiled and approached the bed.

"Sorry to disturb," he said, "But someone wanted to come see you the moment she heard about what happened." Nick raised an eyebrow, but didn't have time to think about it as a big ball of blonde energy that was Lindsey Willows burst into the room, followed closely by her mother.

"Uncle Nicky!" she cried, climbing up onto the bed to hug him. Nick smiled and hugged her back.

"Hey, how's my favorite little girl?" he asked.

"I should be asking you that," the thirteen year old said. Nick grimaced, remembering his nightmares.

"I'm fine Lindsey," he lied, "The doctors just think I might've eaten something bad."

"Did they send a sample to the lab?" Lindsey asked. Nick laughed.

"What are you? A CSI?" he joked. Lindsey shrugged.

"I thought of maybe taking after my mom one day," she said, beaming a smile in her mother's direction. Nick looked up at Cath, whose eyes were shining.

"So do you know when you're getting out?" Warrick asked. Nick shook his head.

"I just woke up when you guys got here," he said, "Someone should probably go tell the doctor." He yawned and then lie back down, suddenly overcome with exhaustion. Lindsey clambered off the bed and grabbed Warrick's hand and pulled him towards the door.

"We'll go find the doctor, c'mon Warrick," she commanded. Warrick shot a grin at Catherine then followed Lindsey. Catherine pulled up a second chair on the other side of the bed and placed her hand on Nick's forearm.

"How're you feeling?" she asked sympathetically.

"I don't know. I'm not in any pain anymore, if that's what you mean," Nick said, closing his eyes.

"I called Grissom before I came here. If we confirm poisoning, the case will be handed to the nightshift, so Grissom and Sara will be overseeing it," Catherine informed him. Greg, who'd been sitting silently since the others arrived, perked up.

"What about me?"

"Um…well, Grissom said…" she started, but was interrupted when the doctor pulled back the curtain and stepped into the room.

"Good afternoon Mr. Stokes. I'm glad to see that you're feeling better. I'm going to have to ask your friends to step out for a moment while we have a little chat," he said. Greg gave Nick's hand a gentle squeeze before getting up and following Catherine out to the waiting room where Lindsey and Warrick now sat.

"Why don't you two run down to the cafeteria and get us all something to eat? My treat," Catherine said, reaching for her purse. Warrick grabbed her hand and shook his head.

"Don't worry Cath, I got it. Time to treat my favorite little girl to nice breakfast anyways," Warrick said and winked at Lindsey, who blushed. "…Even if it is just hospital food. I'll bring something back for you two." Catherine shot him a look of pure gratitude, and watched as the two strode down the hall together. She felt her heart warm at the sight of her daughter being happy with one of her friends. Lindsey had a hard time adjusting when it came to the death of her father, and Catherine was glad she'd taken such a shine to Warrick.

She shook the thoughts from her head and turned back to Greg. He was sitting down on a chair, staring at his shoes.

"Greg," He looked up, and Cath could see tears just barely brimming his eyes. She sat down next to him and took his hand.

"Why won't Grissom let me on the case? I…need to help him, I need to help Nick," Greg said sadly.

"This is why Greg. Grissom said that it was because you're too emotionally involved. You're attached to Nicky," Catherine told him. Greg's face turned crimson.

"Am I that easy to read? Who else knows?" Catherine shook her head.

"Grissom came to me for advice when he started to suspect that something was going on between you two," she informed him, "We haven't said anything to anyone because we didn't know if it was true. So…are you and Nicky together?" Greg laughed out loud. Catherine didn't know whether he thought it was funny or if he'd just lost it.

"Heh, no. We're not. Nick doesn't think of me like that. We're just good friends," he said, "I mean, I'd like to be more, but Nick hasn't really…" He trailed off, and stared back down at the floor, kicking his shoes against the tiles. He looked like a little kid just then, confused and unsure of his next move.

"Have you tried talking to him about it?" Catherine asked. Greg shook his head again.

"It's hard to just walk up to your best friend, who's sexuality still remains undetermined, and just say "Hey, you know what? I think I'm in love with you" It just doesn't work like that. Nick would probably freak out and kick me to the curb," It was Catherine's turn to laugh.

"If that's what you think, then you obviously don't know Nicky well enough. Nick would never, ever treat you that way," she said, "Besides…I don't think Nicky is at all homophobic." She grinned at him evilly. Greg looked up at her, his eyebrows raised. Then he leaned in closer to her.

"Oh yeah? Do you know something I don't?" he asked. She just kept smiling.

"Let's just say I once caught Nicky in a…peculiar predicament," she started giggling, "In a certain storage closet, in a certain crime lab, with a certain…lab assistant."

Greg's jaw dropped.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Somewhat Cath/Warrick centered.

* * *

Warrick grabbed two trays and got in line in the cafeteria. Lindsey was looking through the assorted things in front of her. She grabbed three bowls of green Jell-O and placed them on the tray. Warrick gave her a look, but she just shrugged.

"I never leave here without having Jell-O," she explained, "One for me, one for you and one for Greg. Mom doesn't like it though."

"Ah, I see. Well, we'll get her something she likes then," he looked around, "Ah, here we go, Raspberry yoghurt." Lindsey grinned at him.

"Mom's favorite,"

"Yup…now, what do you feel like eating? They have some things I don't think would be too bad, eh?" Warrick said as they moved down the line. The room was nearly empty, only a few people lingered around save for the hospital employees. Most of the people in there wore grim expression on their faces. That was another part of hospitals Warrick hated. You were surrounded by strangers and you had no idea what sort of ordeal they could be going through, but deep down you just had to sympathize. Warrick hated hospitals. They brought back painful memories of his mother…

"Warrick? Hello? Earth to Warrick?" Warrick was snapped out of his reverie by Lindsey waving a hand in front of his face. He looked down at her.

"What? Sorry Linds, I guess I spaced out," he said. She nodded.

"That's okay. I picked out a salad for mom, and I got two pieces of pizza and some fries for me and Greg. Are you gonna get something?" Warrick nodded and grabbed another salad. Warrick quickly poured three cups of coffee, and they made their way to cashier. After paying for the food, they each grabbed a tray. Warrick was about to head back to the elevator when Lindsey suddenly veered off and went to an empty table.

"Linds?" He put the tray on the table and sat down next to her. She grabbed a French fry and chewed on it absentmindedly. Warrick frowned silently, and decided to sip his coffee.

"What were you thinking about?" she asked after a moment and looked at him.

"My mother," he admitted.

"Where is she?" Warrick was silent.

"She died a long time ago," he said finally, "I lived with my Grams." Lindsey shot him a sad look.

"When my daddy died, Mom was really sad. I mean, I was sad too but I don't think I was as sad as my mom was," she said softly. Warrick was surprised. Catherine had told him that Lindsey never liked to talk about her father's death.

"Well, your mom really loved your dad. Even though they never got along well, I think that she loved him. Probably because if she didn't meet your dad, she would've never had you," Warrick explained, "And when people die, it's hard to accept it."

"I don't think Daddy loved Mom as much as she loved him," Lindsey said, swallowing hard. Warrick could not believe he was having this conversation.

"Are you worried about your mom?" he asked. Lindsey nodded.

"She's not as sad anymore, but sometimes when she looks at me…I can just see what's going through her mind and she gets a sad look on her face," she said, "I can tell she's thinking of Daddy." Warrick didn't know what to say. He was not good at this sort of thing; he'd never had any experience with anyone other than Lindsey, which was so minimal. On the other hand, he was kind of touched that she would share this with him.

"Mom really likes you, you know," she said suddenly.

"I like your mom too," Warrick admitted.

"I mean…she really likes you. You should see her face when we talk about you. You make her happy," Suddenly it all made sense to Warrick. She was confiding in him because she wanted his help. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, unsure of how to respond.

"Linds, I really like your mom too. It's just…complicated. She's my boss after all," he explained. Lindsey frowned.

"I thought Uncle Gil was your boss,"

"He was. Is. Technically they both are. After…the incident, our teams merged," Warrick said. He still always referred to it as "the incident" because he still couldn't find a way to talk about it.

"Either way…I just wanted you to know. I'm worried about my mom. I know I caused her a lot of grief when I was younger…" Lindsey said, tears brimming her eyes, "Sometimes I feel like she's just going to fall apart." Warrick pulled Lindsey into his arms, ignoring the few sympathetic looks other people were giving them. He rocked her back and forth gently as she cried softly.

* * *

After the doctor had finished up with Nick, he allowed Catherine and Greg back in. They resumed their previous spots. Nick looked more exhausted then before, resting with his eyes nearly closed.

"So what'd they say?" Greg asked softly.

"The doctor said that it was most likely something I ingested. They're still running tests, and you know how long that usually takes. He said I should watch what I eat and drink really carefully," Nick informed them.

"I have a test running at the lab too," Greg said. Catherine raised an eyebrow.

"How did you pull that off?" she asked. Greg shrugged.

"I asked for a sample. Gave it to Hodges," Nick chuckled.

"You know you both could get in trouble for that," Catherine said, "This isn't officially a case yet."

"Unless I ask it to beor Hodges can confirm poisoning," Nick said. Catherine nodded. "Cath, I've had food poisoning before. I've broken bones in sports. I've been pushed out of a two story window. I've been buried underground and nearly eaten alive by fire ants. But nothing and I mean nothing was more physicallypainful than what I went through earlier. I thought I was going to die." Nick started to tear up.

"Don't worry Nick, Grissom and Sara will find out," Greg assured him. Catherine agreed.

"In the meantime Nick," Catherine said, "I don't think you should be at home alone. For all we know, whoever did this could have gotten into your house."

"We also need to check the lab," Nick said, worried suddenly, "I drink a lot of coffee there. Who knows? Someone could've slipped this into my lunch earlier. That was the last thing I remember eating." Greg perked up.

"Do you still have any of it left?" Nick eyes widened.

"Yes! I remember now, I put half of it back in my locker. I didn't want to put it in the fridge because Grissom left another one of his experiments in there," Catherine clapped.

"Excellent, so now we have a reference. We'll have it tested," she said.

"Have what tested?" They turned to see Warrick and Lindsey walk in, balancing two trays. It was Warrick who spoke.

"We'll explain it later," Catherine said, not wanting her daughter to hear. Lindsey walked over and hand her mom her food. Warrick handed a paper plate to Greg, who nodded his thanks.

"We got you a chicken salad and some Raspberry Yoghurt," Lindsey said. Catherine smiled.

"Thanks sweetie," she said, "You and Warrick were gone an awful long time, did you have fun?" Lindsey nodded, looking at Warrick. He winked back at her.

"Oh, what's this? Keeping secrets, are we?" Catherine scoffed. Lindsey giggled.The group sat around for awhile, just chatting and eating. After awhile, Catherine checked her watch."Well…I think we better go. We were already on overtime and I'm exhausted."

"I'll drive," said Warrick, "You get better, okay Nicky?" Nick nodded at him.

"I feel better. A lot better. They're letting me go home tomorrow," he said, turning onto his side trying to get into a more comfortable position.

"Just don't go alone, okay?" Catherine cautioned.

"I won't," he said, looking at Greg, who nodded eagerly. Lindsey climbed up to the bed and gave Nick a big hug.

"Bye Uncle Nicky," she said.

"Bye Linds," He waved gently.

And then he and Greg were alone. Greg really wasn't sure what to say.

"Greg?" Nick said after a minute.

"Yeah?"

"Eat your pizza. The smell is making me nauseous," Nick said, smiling. Greg laughed and looked at the pizza and it occurred to him just how hungry he was. He quickly downed it. When he finished, Nick's eyes were closed. Greg looked around, unsure of what to do next.

"I'm not sleeping," Nick mumbled.

"Looks like you're almost there," Greg said, "Do you want me to go?" Nick shook his head.

"I just have a headache. And if I didn't know any better, I'd swear there were small woodland creatures mating in my stomach," Greg laughed.

"That bad, huh? Well, I only know one cure for that, but we're in a hospital…" Greg joked. Nick laughed.

"We also work for LVPD," he said, "If they ran a drug test, you and me would get in trouble." Greg scoffed.

"No we wouldn't," Greg said, "I read somewhere that it takes 24 hours for marijuana to get out of your system. Not like you'd actually smoke it anyways, Mr. Dependable." Nick laughed again, but rolled into a groan.

"If this gets any worse, I might just take you up on that offer," Nick winced.

"I'll keep that in mind," Greg said, winking at him. Nick shifted in the bed again, unable to get comfortable.

"They really need new beds in here, they're as stiff as the floor," he complained.

"Well, if you want, you can sleep on the floor and make a comparison. Hey, I bet if you present an experiment to the budget committee, they might just do that," Greg joked.

"They'd also have to pay for my chiropractor," Nick said, "Or get me some sort of spine replacement."

"Wow, can they do that?" Nick shook his head, laughing.

"They can make artificial ones, I think. They wouldn't actually work though, it's impossible to remake a human spine much less do a transplant," Nick said.

"If you could donate spines like you do with organs, the quadriplegic people in the world could have a second chance," Greg said, thinking.

"Believe me, we're probably not the first people to think of that," Nick said, "And god, we talk about weird stuff." Greg nodded in agreement. He had to admit, it didn't really matter all that much. He liked talking to Nick. It'd been a long time since he'd found someone he could talk to like he did with Nick. No matter what they talked about, Nick never judged him or looked at him weird like most of his previous friends. He found himself thinking about his last boyfriend, Alec. He'd been a university student and met Greg at a party once. Greg thought he'd struck it lucky when they started dating. Then after a few weeks, things turned sour. It started with little arguments, which eventually developed into full-blown fights. The day that they broke up, Alec had hit him. Greg closed his eyes and remembered it, clear as day. Alec screaming at him, his fist suddenly flying, connecting with Greg's jaw. Greg was shocked, and promptly kicked him out, refusing his tired apologies. He knew then that there was no chance of that ever working out. Greg refused to let anyone hit him like that. He'd seen enough cases of domestic abuse that he knew a lot better. He'd walked around with a black eye for awhile, and nobody even bothered to ask why the two had suddenly split. Over those next few weeks, he listening to Alec's pleading messages on his machine with tears in his eyes. He remembered not feeling sorry for himself, but for the poor sap that ended up with Alec and his temper in the end.

When Greg opened his eyes again, he realized that Nick had fallen asleep. He lay on his side, one arm tucked under the pillow, his breathing deep and even. The corners of his lips twitched in an almost smile. Greg settled back in his chair, resting his head on the back. After a few minutes of staring at the white ceiling, he eventually fell into an uncomfortable sleep.

* * *

Warrick pulled the vehicle into Catherine's driveway and shut the engine off. He twisted around to look at Lindsey.

"She wasn't kidding when she said she was exhausted," he said, indicated Catherine, who was asleep in the passenger seat.

"Should we wake her up?" Lindsey asked, climbing out of the car. As Warrick got out, Lindsey opened the passenger door, shaking her mother's shoulder gently.

"Mom…Mom, we're home," Catherine's eyes flickered open. She sat up, yawned and stretched her arms out. She slid out of the car. Warrick came over and helped her into the house. They went to the bedroom, Lindsey following close behind. Catherine flopped down into her bed and closed her eyes.

"Ugh, I'm so…" she yawned, "...tired." Lindsey moved down and slipped her mother's shoes off for her. Catherine smiled gratefully.

"Wanna have a nap with me, Linds?" she asked, sliding to her pillow. She patted a spot next to her. Lindsey climbed on the bed and curled up next to her mother.

"Can Warrick stay too?" she asked. Catherine glanced up at Warrick, who stood there looking sheepish. She patted the bed on her other side.

"Room for one more," she said. Warrick hesitated, then slipped off his sneakers and crawled next to the two.

"There we go," Catherine said, "My two favorite people." She settled into her pillow.

"Mine too," Lindsey mumbled before settling into sleep.

* * *

This is going somewhere, I promise. P 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

When Greg woke up again, it was night time and he had a painful crick in his neck. He didn't realize how tired he'd been. He stretched and yawned, glancing at his watch. 8:00 p.m. Visiting hours were over at nine, leaving him just enough time to head home, shower, eat, and head into work. Nick was still sleeping soundly on the bed. Greg fished around in his pockets for a scrap piece of paper and a pen. He quickly scribbled "Gone to work, call my cell. – Greg" and left it on the side table. He left the hospital in a hurry and made his way to his car.

On his way home, he turned on his cell phone. As if on cue, it rang immediately. He checked the call display. It said 'Hodgy'

"Hey," he answered.

"What's the point of having a cell phone if you don't even turn it on?" David Hodges said irritably.

"So that I can bat off the tons of women who stalk me, and only accept calls from the greatest of people," Greg said sarcastically, "Actually, I was still in the hospital with Nick."

"Ah yes, now let's talk about that, boy wonder," David said, "I've managed to isolate an unknown substance in Nick's stomach contents. Oddly enough though, it's not in our database. I was trying to determine if it was a positive or a negative agent. Still pending further testing."

"Well…we think it may have come from Nick's lunch that he had yesterday,"

"Ah yes, the infamous sandwich. Warrick brought that into me a few hours ago, he looked at it like it was about to blow up. I tested it. No trace of this unknown substance. However, he also brought me a bottle of iced tea from Nick's locker, which tested positive for the substance, whatever it may be,"

"Okay, so it came from his drink. That's one step closer,"

"You know, since this officially became Sara's case today, I'm technically not supposed to be divulging this information to you,"

"You know you can't resist me, Hodgy,"

"Call me that again, and I'll be feeding you this unknown substance,"

"Oh, good comeback," He didn't need to see it, but he knew that Hodges was rolling his eyes.

"I'm gonna let that one slide. How's your lover doing?" Greg's jaw dropped. He was too shocked for a moment, but managed to choke out…

"Catherine told you?"

"Oh god no," Hodges replied as if that act were a curse in itself, "As a lab rat myself, you think I haven't noticed the way you pine over him? It's so romantically…nauseating." Greg was in complete shock at this point and literally had to pull over to the side of the road.

"You…haven't said anything, have you?"

"No, who exactly would I share this little tidbit with? I'm not exactly Mr. Gossip in the break room. I leave that to the tech from days."

"People just don't appreciate your incredible knowledge of the world," Greg said sarcastically.

"Speaking of which, Ecklie's giving me death looks from across the hall. What does that mean?"

"Means he likes you. If he tries to fire you, then he _really_ likes you," Hodges groaned.

"He must be madly in love with Grissom, then"

"You mean like you are?"

"I'm hanging up now, Sanders,"

"Good enough, I should probably hit the road or Ecklie'll have my ass next,"

"Hopefully not, I'm sure Nick would be very disappointed. He doesn't like tainted ass,"

"You don't even know if Nick is that way,"

"Well, he'd better be or else I'll have to be your shoulder to cry on if actually did break your heart,"

"Aww, Hodgy, I'm really touched,"

_Click_

Greg smiled, happy that at least someone still carried a bit of humor in bad times even if it was just sarcastic bitter humor. As he pulled back onto the road, he found his thoughts wandering back to what Catherine had said to him earlier. For a brief second, he wondered if Hodges was the mystery tech, but even his spectacular mind couldn't process that one, and he had to laugh at the idea. But still…he wondered. How many lab techs were there running around the lab anyways?

* * *

A knock at the door of his office brought Grissom out of a deep trance. He'd been thinking hard. He glanced up to see Sara there, file in hand.

"You assigned me Nick's case," she said without greeting, entering the room to sit down across from him. He took off his glasses.

"And?"

"You assigned it to me solo," she said, "I know I'm capable of doing it alone, I'm just…"

"You're wondering why I won't let Greg work the case,"

"Well, yes,"

"It's simple. Greg will get too involved. He'll let his emotions run the case," Sara frowned.  
"And you think I won't?" she asked, "Nick's my friend too." Grissom pinched the bridge of his nose. There was no way to safely explain this to her, and it was also not his place. That was between Nick and Greg. He decided to steer clear.

"Sara, you've been a CSI much longer than Greg has," he explained, "I know there's a chance you could get involved, but I also believed that you can maintain the right course of action. Greg still has a lot to learn." It wasn't a complete lie. She seemed to find it believable enough, and even gave a small smile.

"So…you're finally starting to trust me again?"

* * *

Catherine and Warrick hadn't spoken a word to each other since they'd woken up later that day. Lindsey was gone, having woken up early and gone out with her Nana. There was the awkward greeting they had in the morning, a bit of small talk on the drive to the lab, but other than that the two couldn't seem to figure out what to say to each other. Now Warrick was going over cold case files alone, while she'd gone to her office to await a report. Warrick literally cursed himself for being stupid. It wasn't like they'd had sex; they'd just taken a nap. Together. In the same bed. He had to admit to himself that the thought pleased him.

He'd received a text earlier from Sara that simply said 'SANDWICH' and had to retrieve the guilty sandwich from Nick's locker. On the shelf above, he noticed a bottle of brown liquid in a water bottle and brought that to Hodges too. He hoped Hodges would be able to figure it out, and if he did then he hoped they'd be able to track down whoever was doing it. He had to think though…could it be someone at the lab? He'd known most of these people for a long time, with exception of the new secretary at the front desk and a new tech on the dayshift. They'd been hired within the last few weeks and neither had any connection to Nick that they knew of. He wondered who else it could be. He thought of past cases, maybe some enemies Nick had made along the way but the only one's that stood out were either dead or behind bars.

A knock at the door shook him out of his thoughts. It was Sara. She slipped in quietly and sat across from him.

"I just talked to Hodges," she said, staring at him.

"Shouldn't you be reporting to Grissom?" She shrugged.

"I already did. I have to go talk to Nick tomorrow," she said, "I thought you'd like to know what's going on." He nodded, putting down his pen and closing the file in front of him.

"Hodges found an unidentified substance in the bottle you brought him and matched it with the stomach contents from the hospital," she explained. Warrick face fell.

"And he doesn't know what it is?" he asked incredulously, "That means it could be some sort of new substance?" She shook her head.

"I don't think so," she said, "It takes a lot to generate something like that." He eyed her.

"You mean like…a lab?" he asked, "Someone with their own lab could concoct something like this. A science geek…" Sara's eyes narrowed.

"You're thinking…that this could have been generated right here in the crime lab? But that would make all of us suspects!" Warrick nodded.

"I don't really want to think it, but it could be possible. However, I was also thinking that maybe Nick might not have been the primary target. We've had one case. Who's to say that someone else in the lab might be next? Hypothetically speaking, of course," Sara shook her head in disbelief.

"God, I hope that it's not like that. I'm going to have to talk to Grissom about this. And we have to hope Hodges can determine the substance," she said worried, "I'll come talk to you later."

Warrick leaned back in his chair and cursed. He was frustrated and he had to admit, even a little scared. Nick had been though a lot of hell over the last few years. Hell that Warrick would never be able to compare too. He didn't need this. It would probably trigger old emotions. He remembered Nick after 'the incident.' The nightmares, the shaking, the anxiety attacks. Nick had seen a shrink through it all, and quickly began to heal himself. The last thing he needed right now was someone trying to murder him in the most painful way they could imagine up. Right now, Warrick was putting all of his faith into Sara and Grissom. There was no way he was going to lose his best friend twice.

* * *

Greg found the group in the break room, minus Grissom. They all turned when he entered the room, staring at him. He frowned.

"What?" Their gazes shifted uncomfortably away, except Catherine's. She was staring at him intently.

"How's Nicky?" she asked. Greg's features softened visibly.

"He says he's okay. The doctor is going to release him tomorrow," he informed them.

"So soon?" Warrick asked. Sara scribbled something down on a piece of paper. Greg leaned over her shoulder. She'd written a list of things down.

"I'm characterizing the symptoms of the drug. Hodges may be able to narrow it down. The effects were very short term," she started to read over her list, "Nausea, vomiting, fainting…pretty basic. All in all, we barely have anything to work with except this substance. I mean, what if it's nothing?"

"It could be," They all turned to see Grissom standing at the door, "or it could be something. We're going to check anyways." Sara nodded. She moved to sit down next to Greg and Grissom pulled up to the front of the table.

"We have to keep this short, this is going to be a long shift," Grissom said, he passed a few slips of paper to Catherine.

"Double homicide in a warehouse, I figured you might want to work with one with Warrick," Catherine nodded, giving Warrick a small grin.

"Greg, you've got a B&E to work on," he said, "And Sara, I need you to double up and work on the motel scene with me." Greg was about to comment to Grissom but he was interrupted by his cell phone ringing. He checked the caller ID.

"It's Nicky," he said. The others just watched while he answered. "Hello…hey buddy…yeah, I am….they're all here….yeah…" He started to laugh. "Yeah, okay. Okay…yeah, I know…okay. Get better; I'll see you after shift…yeah, bye." He hung up the phone. The others were staring at him expectantly.

"What?" Greg said. Grissom cleared his throat. "What? Oh, right! Nick says hi to all. He just woke up and wanted me to pick him up tomorrow morning, doctor says he seems fine." This seemed to please Grissom, for he smiled at Greg before turning away.

"Extremely short term," Sara muttered to herself, but the others caught it too. "This is so weird guys. Short term effects, water-soluble, the list goes on...I need more info from Hodges. And the worst part is that there's a chance it could've come from our own lab."

"You're taking a big leap there, Sara," Catherine said, "There are other scientific labs in Las Vegas, and we can't rule out the possibility that some guy doesn't have a lab in his basement. Science geek ultra-fied." They all seemed to think about that for a minute. Then Grissom spoke up.

"Sara, when we get back you can look over a few old case files. See if anyone's got a grudge? Science major, perhaps?" he suggested.

"We've done that. Recently, I mean. I know almost all of Nick's cases off by heart since the "incident" I even checked in with his old stalker, but he's still in jail," Greg added, "It might've been more recent that that though, because nothing really stood out to me."

"I'll check the recent files, if nothing stands out, I'll go over the rest." Sara confirmed. Grissom nodded.

"Let's get moving, we've got a lot of work to do," he said. He got up with Sara to leave. The other three remained sitting and watched their retreating backs. Then a thought suddenly struck Greg.

"Wait a second…did Grissom say I was going solo?" Greg asked incredulously. Catherine grinned almost devilishly.

"I may have had something to do with it," she said, "I figured you wouldn't want to get stuck here at work." She got up to leave with Warrick. Before they left the room, Warrick turned back around and poked his head back in.

"Hey G, keep an eye on Nicky. He might not be as good as he's letting on," Greg nodded. "...and have fun," Warrick winked at him before leaving again. Greg sat there, dumbfounded for the third time in 24 hours.

* * *

Nick was sleeping when Greg got there at nine after his shift. He tried to slip in without disturbing him, but the moment he moved the curtain aside, Nick's eyes were open. He smiled.

"Hey,"

"Morning," Greg said, "How're you feeling?"

"I'm hungry," Nick replied, "I've already seen the doctor today. He said I could go home, but I'm not allowed to be by myself for at least a day. He says there's a possible chance of a relapse." Greg held up a duffle bag that he had in his hand.

"I went to your house and grabbed you a change of clothes. Figured you wouldn't wanna change into those sweaty things you were wearing yesterday," Greg said. Nick beamed at him.

"You rock, G," He climbed out of the bed, but suddenly wavered and had to sit back down. Greg was at his side in a second.

"Shit, are you okay?" Nick nodded.

"I'm fine, I just got up a little too fast," He replied, rubbing his eyes with his fists. He grabbed the bag Greg brought and made his way to the bathroom. Greg hovered around the room, staring at the various paintings on the walls. They were meant to calm, so they we mostly floral, with light blues and greens. He hated the pastel colors of hospital walls. Sure, the hallways were white, but the rooms were painted awful beige and pastel blues. How could anyone be calmed by a room with such awful clashing colors? Greg thought for a moment and realized he was being absolutely ridiculous.

He heard a thump coming from behind the bathroom door. He put his ear to the door and didn't hear anything. Hesitantly, he knocked.

"Nick? You okay?" He was startled when the door opened. Nick stood, dressed and clean, looking much better than he had a few minutes ago.

"I'm fine, Greggo. Let's get the hell out of here," he said, a little too quickly. They left the hospital after signing a few release forms and picking up a prescription for some antacids that might help Nick with stomach cramps. They made it out to the car and climbed in. Nick burrowed down into his seat and rested his head on his hands. Greg's stomach felt a little fluttery. He didn't know whether or not Nick would ask him to stay at his place or not, but Warrick had warned him not to leave Nick alone.

"Hey G, I'm starving. Let's go shopping," Nick suggested. Greg grinned.

"You wanna head to the grocery store? Your fridge is kind of empty," Nick chuckled softly.

"Been lurking in my fridge again, Greggo?" he joked.

"Oh, you know…I just love your modern selection of mustards," Greg said sarcastically. Nick gave a small smile.

"Ah, you're right; I do need to do a little shopping. I've been living off take-out for a long time now," he said quietly.

"If you want, we can go shopping and I can make you something. I know a few old family recipes from my family. Papa Olaf always said that men should know how to cook. It's a pleaser," Greg told him, "When they were a lot younger, they used to make their meals together, rather than one in the kitchen."

"Hmm...Guess it works. Good way to spend quality time," They fell into silence then. Greg kept his eyes on the road, taking the occasional glance in Nick's direction. He was staring out the window at everything they past, as if he were a kid exploring a new town. But it was good old Vegas, same thing time and time again. He figured Nick was just trying to avoid conversation. He sighed.


End file.
